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Distribution Failure Caused by RDPInput.exe

Troubleshooting

Problem

Scheduled distributions may fail with the error “The remote procedure call failed (0x800706BE)” when the Excel Add‑In runs on the Distribution server. This can occur when a user connects to the server using Remote Desktop from a touch-enabled device. Windows starts the RDPInput.exe process, which can interfere with the DCOM communication used by the Add‑In.

Cause

When a user connects to the Distribution server from a device with a touch-enabled device, Windows starts the RDP Session Input Handler (

RDPInput.exe
).

This process can conflict with the Excel Add‑In’s DCOM operations and prevent Excel from opening during the scheduled distribution. As a result, the task fails with RPC errors (

0x800706BE
and
0x800706BA
).

Solution

First, stop the active RDPInput.exe process. Then, prevent it from starting again by automating the shutdown at user sign-in.
Stop the process (immediate fix).
  1. Open Task Manager on the Distribution server and go to the Details tab.
  2. Look for any active RDPInput.exe or RDP Session Input Handler processes.
  3. If you find any, right‑click the process and select End task.
  4. Run the distribution again to confirm that it completes successfully.
Prevention (1/2): Create a PowerShell script to stop the process automatically.
  1. Save a script at C:\PowerShellBatch\KillProcess.ps1.
  2. Add the following content: Get-Process -Name "rdpinput" | Stop-Process -Force.
Prevention (2/2): Create a scheduled task to run the script at user sign-in.
  1. Open Task Scheduler and select Create Task.
  2. In the General tab:
    • Enter a name and description.
    • Select Run whether user is logged on or not.
    • Select Run with highest privileges.
  3. In the Triggers tab, select New and:
    • Set Begin the task to On connection to user session.
    • Select Ok.
  4. In the Actions tab, select New and:
    • In Program/script, enter powershell.
    • In Add arguments, enter:
      -noprofile -executionpolicy bypass -file C:\PowerShellBatch\KillProcess.ps1
    • Select Ok.
  5. In the Conditions tab, clear the power‑related checkboxes.
  6. In the Settings tab, enable If the task fails, restart every.
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